I was recently reading a magazine published in the mid-1990s and I noticed that many of the advertisers listed catalogs in their ads for sale: "Color Catalog: $5" etc. Most of them sold home furnishings, fine art, boutique clothing, or jewelry.

I was in elementary school in the mid-1990s and thus not ordering from catalogs, but I always assumed catalogs were complimentary. (I remember with fondness the Spiegel catalog.)

Paying for catalogs seems so archaic in the world of the internet that it seems to be forgotten.

Did you pay for catalogs? Which ones?

by Anonymous

reply 17

March 28, 2023 12:06 PM

I only remember when the A&F catalog went from being free to having a charge, and no I did not.

by Anonymous

reply 1

March 27, 2023 9:44 AM

It usually depended on the size of the company.

For example, Sears/JC Penney/Montgomery Ward would usually pass out their catalogs to regular customers. If you placed an order once or twice, you were usually on the mailing list for a few years. You would receive a card in the mail allowing you to pick up the latest catalogs (Spring/Summer, Fall/Winter, or the highly-coveted Christmas catalogs).

Smaller companies made you order on a more consistent basis in order to receive the next catalog.

If you go on eBay, people are charging a ton of money for the old department store catalogs. Especially, the older Christmas ones featuring the first Barbie or GI Joe dolls, etc.

by Anonymous

reply 2

March 27, 2023 9:55 AM

When they started charging, I paid $20 a year for the Abercrombie Quarterly. I had two subscriptions. I sold one copy of each issue to a guy in Europe and kept one for myself. Eventually I sold my collection.

by Anonymous

reply 3

March 27, 2023 10:31 AM

I seem to remember paying $5 for a Spiegel catalog, but receiving a $5 Spiegel gift certificate along with it. I miss catalogs in a nostalgic way, but online shopping is so much more efficient.

by Anonymous

reply 4

March 27, 2023 10:53 AM

Only Sothebys and Christies ones, darling. And still do.

by Anonymous

reply 7

March 27, 2023 1:14 PM

Isn't a catalog akin to exclusive clubs? I was always under the impression the price they charged was to make some bucks and also to make customers feel special and exclusive.

by Anonymous

reply 8

March 27, 2023 2:00 PM

You could usually request a catalog and receive it for free.

by Anonymous

reply 9

March 28, 2023 8:02 AM

I would give my right testicle for an International Male catalog from the 90's.

by Anonymous

reply 10

March 28, 2023 8:03 AM

Not the usual catalogs, but when I was in junior college I was addicted to reading the course catalog cover to cover & planning out 20+ different scenarios of different schedules. I even read them in the tub. I remember dropping one in, so I went to Tower Records & bought a spare there. This was ‘93, the internet was pretty new for most folks back then.

by Anonymous

reply 11

March 28, 2023 8:26 AM

[quote]I would give my right testicle for an International Male catalog from the 90's.

Hello eunuch!

Offsite Link

by Anonymous

reply 12

March 28, 2023 8:43 AM

r12 Nostalgia is a powerful drug!

by Anonymous

reply 13

March 28, 2023 8:49 AM

Auction catalogues, like R7. Buy a few things and they subscriptions usually become free.

by Anonymous

reply 14

March 28, 2023 10:57 AM

Charging became more common while catalogues were in their death spiral. The Restoration Hardware catalogues were RIDICULOUS. They printed each department separately. Together they must’ve weighed 10 lbs.

by Anonymous

reply 15

March 28, 2023 11:05 AM

Gay porn companies frequently charged small fees for their catalogs/brochures, as these were themselves porn. I'm thinking of Target, Colt, some of the nudie studios like AMG, Kensington Road, etc.

by Anonymous

reply 16

March 28, 2023 11:53 AM

R12, can the seller guarantee the pages aren't stuck together? 😉

by Anonymous

reply 17

March 28, 2023 12:06 PM